Letting go of the alcohol habit that no longer serves you.

Monthly Archives: April 2017

So I opted to have a drink yesterday after completing my 100 days – but today is a NEW day and even though I’m on vacation – it doesn’t mean I’m going to allow myself to slip back to daily drinking patterns.

The last time I took a two week break after the completion of my first 100 days – I did just that. It was the xmas holidays and I was visiting and I drank every day in that two week period.

As I get ready to fly out to Hawaii tomorrow – my intentions are different. My view on ‘da booze has changed even more (as I had hoped it would). Many were afraid that I would simply fall back into the pattern if I ‘allowed’ myself drinks again. Many find it simpler to just stay AF rather than do the moderation game. For ME – this is what I want… to now work towards achieving the 300 days MINIMUM in a one year period without drinks. It doesn’t mean I’m going to max it out – and plan 65 days with drinks.

What is more important to me is to continue achieving my health goals and while I’m down in weight and inches – I’m NOT done! So yes, through the rest of this month I may not be 100% AF but once I get back … May 1st – it’s a NEW challenge and back to a good streak to keep those numbers going in the right direction! That my friends is my priority over anything else!

My SECOND 100 Day Challenge is complete and while I did say I would go 101 days – since I now decided to take tomorrow off and start my vacation today, I am now planning to celebrate the beginning of a MUCH needed vacation!

I am trying to wrap everything up at work and tonight – for the first time in over 100 Days want to just kick back and relax and enjoy a few drinks – no guilt, no shame – but rather pride and joy for having reached my GOAL!!

As I have shared – my next goals is to now beat my AF days in a year and boost them from 209 days in 2016 to 300 days for 2017!

Here are some things I plan on keeping in mind… and my inside thoughts talking out through this blog:

No WAY am I ever going back to the practice of daily drinking just for the sake of doing so

No WAY am I going to undo all of the health progress I’ve made (down 45lbs)

No WAY am I going to let alcohol take back my energy or spunk

Yes I will enjoy some drinks on vacation … I won’t obsess about it or over analyze too much

Yes I will stay accountable and check in with my NEW Lose ‘Da Booze for 300 Days or More Challenge group once a week on Friday (by sharing my stats and my thoughts)

Yes I am committed to continuing to reach for new goals!

When I am back from vacation – on May 1st – I am launching a new fitness challenge … to keep focusing on my health as I prepare for my BIG event in New Orleans in July!

I still plan on rocking a HOT “step-mom” dress for my step-daughter’s wedding on August 19th too!

Keep reaching for your dreams and goals! Stay in tune and listen to your intuition … if something doesn’t feel right then it isn’t! If you go back to having drinks and find yourself falling back to old patterns – go back to being AF 100%.

Today was one of those days where little things kept going wrong … like this morning when I was getting ready for our event and checking to make sure the laptop was good to go – it started acting funky… and then at the event the sound wouldn’t come on… and after the event… I went for a car wash and it broke down while I was in it…. and plans to hang out with my gf didn’t work out… I felt frustrated and it was one of those moments where the ‘old’ me would have used that as the excuse to say SHIT I need a drink!

But in all honestly despite those little things – I DIDN’T go with them. Instead I sit here to reflect on the GOOD that came out of today. We were short handed at our event and yet we nailed it out of the park and our timing ran smoothly and we were able to get out even ahead of schedule (as our past event went over on time and we would have been charged had it happened again). I got some great professional photos taken. I had some fun ones taken too. It’s a beautiful sunny day. I’m home alone now and enjoying the peace and quiet and I am NOT drinking.

Instead I am thinking of all that I will do tonight that will allow me to wake up feeling amazing with 99 days on the wall TOMORROW!!

I have 2 more days of work left (Monday and Tuesday) – taking the Wednesday off to tend to last minute details for our trip of a lifetime to Hawaii. I am looking forward to letting go a bit… unplugging a bit more… so I may not be posting as much. I did tell my man that I would NOT let go of my morning ritual that is to wake and read my affirmations, workout and post. But that will be it! The rest of the day will be spent taking in the beautiful scenery and time for us to reconnect as a couple after a couple of months of chaos on the home front.

I’ve launched the 300 Days or More AF group so that’s my next goal … In 2016 I ended the year with 209 Days AF so hitting that 300 is a great improvement!! 300 days AF is 18% of the year without ‘da booze and that’s an incredible number in my books in comparison to past years – where I was only 18% AF and the rest was spent drinking.

I’m only sending invites to the group to those who share their plan with me on how they will reach that MINIMUM 300 days… because I want to stay focused – this is a JOURNEY that I’m on with everyone. This is going to be a first for me in decades and I know that I will end this year fulfilling my other goal too – and that is to be Fit@50&Beyond!

Cheers to hitting my 2nd 100 days – and bettering it by ONE day!! I will not be drinking until my vacation starts on April 12th! My plan is to be mindful and it’s kind of an experiment to compare from my last break before starting this latest challenge … I took a 2 week break before launching this one and drank daily – my plan this time is to NOT repeat that pattern. There’s only 65 days in the year MAX that I can allow myself drinks – I’m going to save those for occasions that are not related to using alcohol to escape or numb any feelings. It will be social and fun – and if it’s not it will STOP. That’s my plan… what’s YOURS after you reach your 100 days? Will you be joining another challenge? Be sure to message me and let me know!

When I first started my sober blog in 2013 – I did so in following other sober blogs and I tried to do the 100 Day Challenge with Belle’s “Tired of Thinking about Drinking” info. I never was able to successfully do it back then because I wasn’t ready.

It was when I shifted my focus on my HEALTH journey and really launched myself into being ‘proof’ the products I believe in so much worked that I was finally able to let go of this drinking or alcohol fixation and I shifted it to my own Beachbody journey… first and foremost simply by sharing my progress (having now lost over 40lbs) which I credit mostly to having successfully completed the FIRST 100 Days to end 2016 (where I lost 22.5lbs and 21 inches).

Tomorrow morning I will be posting more ‘results’ as I completed a 12 week program (Body Beast) and I will share the results from that program. Never before had I been able to follow through on a program as I’d fall of ‘the wagon’ … have drinks, and then of course not feel like working out or doing anything healthy. And once I slipped, I had that mentality that ‘oh well – I can start again next week or after this or that’…

In all honesty – it’s much like any goal you set your mind on – take for instance my goal to lose the weight that had crept on (as I almost hit 200lbs when I started my journey on January 2016)… although this journey has been a lifetime struggle for me.

Creating healthier habits. Making a decision to commit to something and follow through is what is bringing me the success I am experiencing today. And what is even more awesome is when I see others join in and succeed! To me that is worth so much. Yes I’m a Beachbody coach who could make money by pushing the products more … but for me the priority is helping people first. How that happens is up to them. I want to get to know people and help them where they stand… and if at some point they want to reach out to me for advice on focusing on their fitness well I’m here!!

The journey of Lose ‘Da Booze is near and dear to my heart… and as I’ve shared many times before – when I turned 50 in September it was my wake up call – it was time to walk the talk and just DO IT!! I was not going to keep living the life I was with a daily drinking habit… because I did not want to have my life end at the young age of 50 as my sister’s life did in 2008.

So here’s to focusing on GOOD habits… working out, meditation, affirmations, being there for others and lifting them up. Here’s to another day AF … and I’m getting ready for my last full week of work before my vacation… feeling truly blessed and fortunate! Keep making those healthy choices and join me on the most amazing NATURAL high of your life!

The next group is ready to go… Lose ‘Da Booze 300 Days (or more) Challenge Group is really about letting go of the alcohol habit in our life that once was consuming too much time in our lives. The focus is on being AF – even though this group allows for days where you might drink – it’s about keeping the focus on how we are managing and THRIVING being AF!! If you’re interested in more info about this newest group – shoot me a message via Facebook.

Hello APRIL is right!! Day 91 here and as it’s a new month I’m setting my goals and intentions!! First and foremost my goal is to reach my 101 Days AF (yes you hear me lol – I want to beat my last longest stretch of 100 days by 1 day). So on April 11th I will have reached 101 days AF.

On April 12th – after work I start my vacation and on April 13th I fly out to Hawaii. My plan is to allow for drinks all the while being mindful about not reverting or repeating my last ‘break’ after my first 100 days in that I don’t want to be drinking daily while on vacation. I want to keep the ‘good feeling’ and natural high I have while being sober so that I have the energy to explore and do as many activities and sight seeing as I can while I’m on my trip.

Yesterday was a special day as we had our FIRST graduate from the Lose ‘da Booze 100 Day Challenge Group!! While many will be graduating on or near April 10th – this group is open to ANYONE who wishes to join at anytime so long as they commit to 100 days of consecutive AF days in a row (or more)… as we have some members who have chosen to be sober indefinitely.

For those who wish to re-introduce occasional days where they allow alcohol – I’m launching a NEW 300 or More Days Lose ‘da Booze group… that I hope will help those who have had a longer stretch of days AF (minimum 2 months) and a goal/intention to make the year with 300 MINIMAL AF days in a one year period… Here’s the description of the group… let me know what you think… as I’m always open to feedback…. I will be sending out a link/invite to this on April 10th!

Welcome to the 300 Days or More Lose ‘da Booze Challenge! To be included in this group you must meet the following criteria:
1. Have had a solid period of abstinence (minimum two months of consecutive days without any drinks)
2. Have the intention of having 300 days MINIMUM without ‘da Booze in a ONE year period

To achieve this 300 days – you need to lay out a plan on how you will reach your goal. So you will need to post/share your strategy on how you plan to do this.

You need to be posting for accountability – and sharing in a positive way how you are managing. The members who join MUST post at least once a week to check in.

This group’s focus will be on building strategies and goals you can stick with to change the habits that once weighed you down.

Letting go of what no longer serves you – that being the daily drinking habits that drained us of energy, joy, happiness, etc…

While this group will allow for drinks – I would like to keep the posts about how you are managing focusing on the days you are AF!! The Law of Attraction states – what we focus on we achieve more of… so let’s keep talking and focusing our AF Days and on how we’ll achieve our 300 days and how good we’re feeling while being SOBER!